Brownfieltls Redevelopment tkrougli Partnerskips
U.S. Environmental Protection Ag'ency Reg'ion 2
Brownfields Quarterly Communiiy Report
VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2
Brownfields National
Partnership Action
Agenda
The Interagency Working Group on
Brownfields was established in July 1996
as a forum for federal agencies to ex-
change information on brownfields-re-
lated activities and to develop a coordi-
nated national agenda for addressing
brownfields. This Working Group has
developed the Brownfields National Part-
nership Action Agenda, which effectively
links federal programs in environmental
protection, economic development, and
community revitalization to carry the
Brownfields Initiative into the future.
The Brownfields National Partnership
Action Agenda includes more than 100
commitments from more than 25 organi-
zations. including more than 15 federal
agencies. These commitments represent a
$300 million investment in brownfields
communities by the federal government
and an additional SI65 million in loan
guarantees. The resulting action will help
cleanup and redevelopment at up to S.OOO
properties, leveraging from S5 billion to
S28 billion in private investment, support-
ing 196,000 jobs, protecting up to 34,000
acres of "greenfields," and improving the
quality of life for as many as 18 million
Americans living near brownfields.
Action Agenda highlights include:
* The Administration choosing 10
Brownfields Showcase Communities,
each with a federal coordinator to
coordinate 5 or more federal agen-
cies, to serve as models demonstrat-
ing successful collaboration on
brown fields-related activities;
•- The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) funding SI25 million
SUMMER 1997
for assessment, state cleanup pro-
grams and job training;
The Department of Housing and Ur-
ban Development (HUD) providing
SI55 million in community develop-
ment and housing support and an ad-
ditional S165 million in loan guaran-
tees;
The Economic Development Admin-
istration (EDA) granting $17 million
for brownfields redevelopment in dis-
tressed areas;
The Department of Transportation
(DOT) funding $4.2 million for sus-
tainable transportation addressing
brownfields issues;
The General Services Administration
(GSA) conducting $1 million of envi-
ronmental surveys on federal proper-
ties to expedite brownfields develop-
ment:
The National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration (NOAA) pro-
viding $900,000 for waterfront and
coastal revitalization;
The Department of Health and Hu-
man Services (HHS) committing
$500,000 to support brownfields eco-
nomic development and job creation
and working with the Departments of
Labor (DOL) and Education to link
job training initiatives;
(continued on Page 2)
Brownfields in
Puerto Rico
Interest in brownfields development is
high in Puerto Rico. The New Jersey In-
stitute of Technology Center for Environ-
mental Engineering and Science recently
held a workshop in San Juan to identify
barriers to remediation and redevelopment
of contaminated properties in Puerto Rico.
The workshop was done under the U.S.
EPA funded Technical Outreach Services
for Communities grant program. Stake-
holders invited to the workshop included
representatives from government, plan-
ners, environmental consultants, lawyers,
developers, and members from the com-
munities. Representatives from EPA, the
University, and the Northeast Midwest
Institute as well as several local experts
from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
made informative presentations. Partici-
pants voiced concerns about availability
and sources of funding, liability problems
for buyers and owners of sites, interaction
with government agencies, and commu-
nity participation in the process of rede-
velopment. The participants discussed the
need for forming partnerships between
government, industry, and communities
for successful development projects on the
island. A number of participants ex-
pressed interest in EPA's Brownfields
Pilot Program and suggested possibilities
for development of pilot applications. In
May, Puerto Rico received one of the 34
new Brownfields Demonstration Pilot
I Grants awarded by EPA. ~
JJ
Congress Ponders Brownfields Proposals	2
Newark's Pilot Project: Looking for Trouble
and Ways Around It	3
New York Bond Act: Brownfields Update	3
The Constraints of Conventional Real Estate
Financing for Brownfields	4
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Industry

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Congress Ponders Brownfields Proposals
Since the Brownfields Initiative was an-
nounced in 1995, Congress and state leg-
islatures have considered a range of legis-
lative approaches, some of which have
already been implemented on the state
level, and others which are now in the
federal legislative process. Nationally,
the specific brownfields proposals which <
President Clinton included in his FY 1998
budget request are reflected in two bills
introduced early in 1997: S. 235 in the
Senate and H.R. 505 in the House of Rep-
resentatives.
These companion bills are virtually identi-
cal to bills introduced in the 104th Con-
gress, and were developed in conjunction
with the White House and the Treasury
Department. They seek to "encourage
economic development through the cre-
ation of additional empowerment zones
and enterprise communities and to encour-1
age the cleanup of contaminated
brownfield sites."
The major elements of the proposed legis-
lation are targeted tax incentives which
would encourage site re-use by permitting
non-responsible parties, such as innocent
owners and prospective purchasers, to
fully expense their cleanup costs — that
is, to make cleanup costs fully deductible
in the year the costs are incurred. The
original proposal called for $2 billion in
such incentives over the next seven years.
The tax incentives could be applied to
sites in one of four categories: those in
existing empowerment zones and enter-
prise communities, those sites within the
first 40 EPA brownfield pilot projects,
sites in census tracts with poverty rates of
20% or more, or sites in industrially zoned
census tracts which adjoin qualifying pov-
erty areas.
S. 235 and H.R. 505 include provision to
allow for the creation of 20 new empow-
erment zones and 80 enterprise communi-
ties by the end of 1998. They would al-
low two more empowerment zones to be
named under the 1994 authority, and au-
thorize a new category of tax exempt fi-
nancing for businesses in the new zones.
Alternative strategies to address
brownfields have been outlined in a num-
ber of other bills that have also been in-
troduced in the 105th Congress. Among
the proposed strategies are capital attrac-
tion incentives, such as grants for site as-
sessments and/or actual cleanups or the
creation of revolving loan funds for site
cleanups. These bills include varying pro-
cedures to address the interface between
state and federal programs, and the issue
of long-term liability.
In total, four Senate bills and nine House
bills dealing with brownfields have been
introduced in the 105th Congress. In the
Senate, S. 8 and S. 18 will be considered
in the Environment and Public Works
Committee, while S. 23 and S. 235 have
been referred to the Finance Committee.
In the House of Representatives, in addi-
tion to H.R. 505, the Ways and Means
Committee will also consider H.R. 523,
H.R. 990, H.R. 996, H.R. 997 and H.R.
1049 (which will also be considered by
the Committee on Commerce, Banking
and Financial Services). The Committee
on Commerce, Transportation and Infra-
structure will take up H.R. 873, H.R. 990,
H.R. 1120 and H.R. 1206. ~
Action Agenda
(continued from Page I)
The Department of Energy (DOE)
providing $315,000 to link DOE
cleanups with brownfields communi-
ties;
*¦ HHS leading an Administration-wide
effort to develop a public health pol-
icy to protect community residents
near brownfields;
The Department of the Treasury
working with Congress to enact a $2
billion tax incentive; and
EPA, the Department of Justice
(DOJ) and the States collaborating to
establish national guidelines for State
Voluntary Cleanup Programs.
The Brownfields National Partnership is a
comprehensive, community-based ap-
proach to the cleanup and redevelopment
of contaminated property. Brownfields
provide a focal point for integrating key
aspects of modern life to achieve sustain-
able development: jobs, economic devel-
opment, health, environmental protection,
transportation, finance, training and edu-
cation. The Brownfields National Part-
nership was designed around the princi-
ples of protecting health and the environ-
ment, enhancing public participation in
local decision-making, building safe and
sustainable communities through public-
private partnerships, and recognizing that
environmental protection can be an engine
powering sustainable economic develop-
ment. The Brownfields National Partner-
ship will strengthen communities, bring-
ing all levels of government together with
business, non-governmental organiza-
tions, and local communities to develop
local solutions to local problems. ~
Showcase Communities
The Brownfields National Action Agenda
calls for the selection of 10 Showcase
Communities across the country to dem-
onstrate that through cooperation, federal,
state, local, and private efforts can be con-
centrated around brownfields to produce
environmental cleanup, stimulate eco-
nomic development, and revitalize com-
munities. This effort will result in clean-
ing up contaminated properties, creating
jobs, expanding local economies, and im-
proving communities' quality of life. The
Brownfields Showcase Communities ap-
proach provides sustainable local solu-
tions to local problems, solutions that can
be replicated through the nation.
Communities involved in the Brownfields
Pilot Initiative have asked for more inter-
action among all levels of government, the
private sector and non-governmental orga-
nizations. To that end, EPA and other
federal agencies have joined together to
strengthen and improve their collaborative
efforts to clean up and reuse contaminated
property. The Brownfields Showcase
Communities proposal is the centerpiece
of that plan and a pattern foT future ef-
forts. The communities selected will
serve as models for broad-based coopera-
tive efforts to support locally-based initia-
tives. ~
D
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Newark's Pilot Project:
Looking for Trouble and
Ways Around It
One of the major elements of the City of
Newark, New Jersey's EPA Brownfields
Redevelopment Pilot Project is a con-
certed effort to identify specific sites that
represent the full range of obstacles to
redeveloping a brownfields site and deter-
mine and document ways to overcome
those obstacles.
The Newark Brownfields Initiative (NBI)
identified six diverse sites as representing
a cross section of size, ownership, end-use
potential, and degree of contamination,
and is proceeding to negotiate those sites
through a redevelopment process. The
NBI will attempt to expedite the process,
making use, wherever possible, of new
techniques for site assessment, planning,
and decisionmaking under development
by the New Jersey Institute of Technology
and other partners.
Site assessment work is moving ahead on
two of the six sites with funding from the
New Jersey Economic Development Au-
thority. But, as expected, obstacles such
as uncooperative site owners and litiga-
tion already stand in the way on others.
"We can't ignore obstacles," said NBI
Coordinator Alex Cohen, "But we won't
drop them from the project because the
project is about identifying obstacles and
overcoming them." A Site Technology
Committee made up of local technical,
policy, and planning experts will
strategize ways to address each obstacle,
said Cohen.
In addition to launching these six sites
into redevelopment, the NBI has also
nearly completed a comprehensive inven-
tory of brownfields sites in the City of
Newark. Using the City's Geographic
Information System, the inventory will
make available to the public and all inter-
ested stakeholders a listing of all the
brownfields sites in Newark recognized
by either federal or state waste site
remediation programs. The inventory will
provide information concerning such
things as site ownership, adjacent parcels,
and the potential for combining proper-
ties. The NBI will also use the inventory
to confirm the final selection of sites for
the redevelopment effort described above.
As part of its larger effort to identify in-
centives for remediation and redevelop-
ment, the NBI has also drafted an Envi-
ronmental Opportunity Zone (EOZ) Ordi-
nance for review by the City of Newark
and consideration by the Newark City
Council. Under the ordinance, owners of
brownfields properties within the City
may prepare a remedial plan for their
property and have that plan approved by
the New Jersey Department of Environ-
mental Protection. They could then apply
to the City for a phased-out property tax
exemption which would decrease gradu-
ally over ten years or until the money
saved from the exemption equals the cost
of remediation. The ordinance would also
protect owners who remediate a qualified
property from liability related to contami-
nation caused by previous owners or oper-
ators.
With so many of Newark's brownfields
properties currently off the tax rolls be-
cause of in-rem foreclosure by the City,
the NBI believes the EOZ incentive will
actually increase Newark's commercial
and industrial tax base receipts by stimu-
lating the return of these properties to pri-
vate ownership and tax ratable status.
The NBI is hoping that together these ef-
forts will encourage private investment in
brownfields while finding ways to circum-
vent the barriers that have historically
kept investors away. Ultimately, the NBI
will document its progress and the lessons
learned in a Brownfields Redevelopment
Plan and Program for the City, including
recommendations for legislative, regula-
tory, governmental and management ac-
tions and improvements.
For more information on the Newark
Brownfields Initiative contact NBI Project
Coordinator Alex Cohen at (201) 643-
2790. ~
New York Bond Act: Brownfields Update
New York State is moving ahead on its Brownfields Program under the 1996 Clean
Water/Clean Air Bond Act Eight proposed investigation projects for municipally
owned brownfields have been approved and will be awarded grants for up to 75
percent of the project cost. Governor George Pataki announced these projects in
March.
According to Robert Cozzy, Environmental Engineer with the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), guidance for the Brownfields
(or Environmental Restoration) Program within the Bond Act is expected to be
finalized late summer. At that time, DEC can begin reviewing and approving
additional grant applications for investigation projects. In the meantime, the agency
will help municipalities determine the eligibility of their sites. The DEC will issue
formal regulations for the program by early 1998, and thereafter, begin reviewing
and ranking applications for remediation projects on a quarterly basis.
Under the Brownfields Program, municipalities can apply for funding to cover up to
75 percent of the costs of investigating or remediating their municipally owned
brownfields sites, provided they did not cause the contamination and the sites are
not listed as Class 1 or 2 in the state Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites.
Once projects are completed to the state's satisfaction, the state will release the
municipal owner, as well as any future owner, lessees, and lenders from any
remedial liability related to contamination at the site and indemnify these parties
against all common law causes of action related to contamination at the site prioT to
the project.
The eight investigation projects now moving forward range from small sites to
larger industrial locations in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and in
Westchester and Albany Counties. DEC has approved a ninth investigation project
in Chatauqua County and is awaiting the municipality's decision to proceed.
For more information on the Brownfields Program within the New York Clean Air/
Clean Water Bond Act, contact Jack McKeon, Director of the Bureau of Program
Management at New York State DEC at (518) 457-2582. ~
BQCR Vol. 1 No. 2 Summer 1997
El

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The Rochester Pilot:
Identifying, Funding, Cleaning Up
Through its EPA pilot project grant, the
City of Rochester, New York has identi-
fied priority brownfields with redevelop-
ment potential, designed a revolving loan
fund program for investigation projects,
and launched the private redevelopment of
a 15.5 acre City-owned site. According to
Rochester Brownfields Project Manager
Mark Gregor, the project to date, despite
glitches and delays, has made significant
progress.
Advised by the 15-member Rochester
Brownfield Working Group, the City last
year identified 15 large, industrial
brownfield sites to target with funding
support. The Working Group established
criteria and procedures for the $125,000
revolving loan fund which would enable
businesses and developers to receive up to
$50,000 for investigating brownfield sites,
provided they match the amount with a 50
percent private contribution. If the bor-
rower decides to forego cleanup, the
money would become an outright grant
requiring no repayment. If the project
moves to a cleanup, the borrower then
would be required to pay back the money
at a low interest rate. The site information
gained through the investigation would
become the City's for future use. All pro-
jects funded through the loan program are
subject to voluntary cleanup agreements
with the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Through this revolving loan program, the
City hopes to spur private interest in local
brownfields. Though the City has re-
ceived hundreds of inquiries, initial re-
sponse to the funding opportunity by the
identified brownfields owners was low.
One loan application to investigate a 1.8
acre downtown riverfront site has been
received and approved. The City is now
working with EPA to finalize specifics for
the loan agreements. After that, it will
advertise a request for proposals for the
funds, targeting commercial and industrial
real estate brokers, local developers, busi-
nesses, lenders and law firms active in
environmental law and real estate.
The City also entered into a voluntary
cleanup agreement with the DEC under
which it would investigate and remediate
a portion of Rochester's Erie Canal Indus-
trial Park. With the investigation phase
complete, the cleanup engineering report
awaiting DEC review, and an arsenal of
development incentives, the City has been
able to attract redevelopment interest for
most of the 15.5 acre site. The City has
also successfully engaged neighborhood
residents in cleanup and redevelopment
planning.
"We've learned from the developers that
we have to help address the environmental
concerns at these sites before they will
step in," said Gregor. And that's what the
City is doing with the Erie Canal Indus-
trial Park. "Maybe we need to do the en-
tire cleanup, but I don't think so," said
Gregor, "With a good location, I don't
think we need to be that far along."
Within a year, Gregor said he expects the
parcel will be completely filled with rede-
velopment plans and possibly some con-
struction underway.
In addition to these efforts, the Working
Group has helped the City develop new
approaches to address delinquent taxpay-
ers and to evaluate and promote proposals
for a state voluntary cleanup law. The
City is preparing to submit applications to
the DEC for funding to investigate two
brownfields sites under the New York
State Clean Water/Clean Air Act. There
are also plans to expand the local inven-
tory of sites with redevelopment potential
into a user-friendly database for local de-
velopers and to pursue further EPA fund-
ing in order to establish a revolving loan
fund for cleanup projects as well.
For more information on the City of Roch-
ester's EPA Pilot Project or other brown-
fields initiatives, contact Mark Gregor,
Brownfields Program Manager, City of
Rochester at (716) 428-5978. ~

HOTLINE NOW
AVAILABLE!
The Constraints of
Conventional Real
Estate Financing for
Brownfields
by Evan C. Henry, Vice President and
Manager, Environmental Services, Bank
of America and Randy A. Muller, Vice
President, Environmental Services, Bank
of America
Brownfields are one of the hottest topics
in government and environmental circles.
The legal and financial industries have
also entered the dialogue, but their con-
versations often reflect a narrower under-
standing. The public sector speaks to
issues of general concern to the popula-
tion, including health risk, natural re-
source impacts, restored tax revenues,
creation of social programs (i.e., job
training) and environmental justice. The
environmental industry talks of risk-based
corrective action (RBCA) methodologies,
pathways, and hazardous constituents.
The legal community seeks to define the
brownfields issue in terms of legal prece-
dents and legislative liability relief. The
financial community's focus has remained
on the profitability of the transaction.
Lenders require the ability to quantify any
and all risk in terms of dollars and cents.
Brownfields redevelopment is a complex
process. Building a viable, profitable deal
is not unlike solving a Rubik's Cube. It
takes hard work and patience, but when
the pieces are finally lined up correctly,
the solution will hopefully be able to be
replicated with ease. The good news is
that all of the players necessary for suc-
cessful brownfields redevelopment are
working creatively and collaboratively to
move the process forward. There has
been significant and increasing interaction
among the various groups, often facili-
tated by the U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (U.S. EPA), various states,
Region 2 EPA has established a
Brownfields Hotline to provide infor-
mation on EPA's Brownfields Initiative
throughout New York, New Jersey,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The hotline, staffed by TRC Environ-
mental Corporation, operates Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Within Region 2, dial:
1-800-225-7044
Outside Region 2, dial:
212-619-7703
BQCR Vol. 1 No. 2 Summer 1997

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and local municipalities. However, a long
road lies ahead. If brown fields efforts are
to achieve measurable success, redevelop-
ment projects must be able to withstand
the challenge of the competitive nature of
"greenfield" transactions.
Successful resolution of the problems as-
sociated with brownfields must recognize
both the real and perceived disadvantages
of brownfields redevelopment, including
the size of available properties and their
relative location to suppliers, distributors
and competition, available labor, the edu-
cational level of available labor, and per-
ceptions of crime or decay. All of these
— and other issues — influence the single
most significant aspect of brownfields
redevelopment: demand.
The U.S. EPA definition seeks to define
the word "brownfield" primarily in terms
of the real or perceived environmental
issues. Defining brownfields in a way
which encompasses complex social issues
may provide the first step toward recog-
nizing brownfields in the broader context
necessary to resolve the issue. A more
thorough definition is also required to un-
derstand the motivation of each vested
interest at the discussion table, even
though a more expedient solution may
sometimes be obtained by specifically not
addressing many of the ancillary issues.
Financial institutions, often blamed for the
lack of available capital, operate under
stringent regulatory constraints. In con-
trast to many other brownfields "stake-
holders", banks must adhere to the dic-
tates of federal and state banking regula-
tors regarding lending and credit risk
practices. They must understand and ad-
dress an ever increasing — and often con-
tradictory — amount of legal precedence
on ail aspects of their day-to-day business,
and must react to the potential liabilities
established by laws such as the Compre-
hensive Environmental Response. Com-
pensation. and Liability Act (CERCLA)
and the Resource Conservation and Re-
covery Act (RCRA). They must seek to
act within the best interests of the commu-
nities they serve, and perhaps most impor-
tantly, banks must return a profit to their
shareholders.
Banks cannot lend on undesirable proper-
ties. Banks lend to borrowers, not proper-
ties. Unless a "viable" entity wants to
borrow money to redevelop a brownfields
site, there is little reason for a bank to be
involved in the transaction. Viable in
banking terms means "credit worthy" —
that there are sufficient financial assur-
ances somewhere in the deal to make a
lender comfortable that the loan will be
repaid in the event of the borrower's de-
fault. Typically, loans may be collateral-
ized or secured by real estate, inventory
and equipment, cash flow or the personal
guarantees of the borrowing entity.
Loans secured solely by commercial real
estate are generally bound by the criteria
that the loan cannot exceed seventy-five
(75) percent of the value of the real estate.
In the case of a brownfields site, the
lender may lack the expertise to truly de-
termine the environmental impacts to the
value of the real estate. By definition,
brownfields offer a limited amount of
available information on the nature and
extent of the environmental concern.
More thorough information is only avail-
able after the completion of further due
diligence (i.e., Phase II Environmental
Site Assessments) which may cost tens of
thousands of dollars. Banks are risk
averse by nature and by regulatory rule.
The absence of thorough information re-
garding the potential environmental con-
cern or the inability on the part of the
lenders to comfortably digest the informa-
tion typically stalls brownfields redevel-
opment financing. In response to these
issues, sources of public money are being
made available to address environmental
investigative costs and to help reduce this
barrier to redevelopment.
The next issue of the Brownfields Quar-
terly Community Report will present alter-
native means to secure real estate financ-
ing for brownfields. ~
Region 2 New Pilot
Project Summaries
Five of the 34 new brownfields pilot pro-
jects are located in EPA Region 2. Below
is a description of each new project.
Niagara Falls, NY
The City of Niagara Falls has lost two-
thirds of its manufacturing jobs in the past
35 years and is now home to more than
386 acres of idle property suspected of
soil or groundwater contamination. No
tracts of undeveloped, uncontaminated
land remain for development within the
City, and brownfields cleanup is impera-
tive for economic growth. This pilot pro-
ject seeks to promote the redevelopment
of four sites within the state-designated
Economic Development Zone. The City
will conduct site assessments and develop
cost estimates for rehabilitation, demoli-
tion, and remediatioa and will identify
potential financing sources for each of
these sites. There are plans to create a
comprehensive education and outreach
program that addresses the needs of the
Economic Development Zone neighbor-
hoods and establish an Environmental
Awareness Center to coordinate this pro-
gram.
Contacts:
Sherrel Henry	Dan Gagliardo
U.S. EPA Region 2 Department of
(212) 637-4273 Environ. Services
(716)286-4460
Funding for Brownfields Projects in New Jersey
New Jersey is a leader on the state level in providing targeted financial assistance to
brownfield projects. Ongoing support for brownfields projects is available from the
state's economic recovery fund and from the hazardous waste bond issue passed several
years ago. In 1996, the state pioneered "environment opportunity zones" which offer
developers incentives in the form of local property tax relief over a ten year period on
contaminated properties within the designated zones.
The funding sources provide loans and grants of up to $2 million dollars to municipali-
ties. The loan program addresses sites where the municipalities are potentially responsi-
ble parties, while the grant program aids municipalities holding properties obtained
through tax certificate sales and "orphan sites." Loans of up to $1 million are available
to private parties unable to obtain private financing for brownfields activities. For
information on these programs contact: Michael Sklar, Environmental Claims Adminis-
tration, DEP. (609) 633-2947 ~
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Elmira, NY
Elmira has lost more than 10,000 manu-
facturing jobs as industrial employers
have abandoned urban brownfields. Al-
though the City has implemented eco-
nomic recovery measures, little redevelop-
ment of brownfields has occurred. The
City now owns, by virtue of abandonment
and foreclosure, 50 acres of industrial
property. Through this pilot project,
Elmira plans to conduct preliminaiy site
assessments at up to six sites, detailed site
assessments at up to four sites, and plan
for cleanup at these four sites under the
state's Voluntary Cleanup Program.
Contacts:
Dennis Munhall Cheryl Schneider
U.S. EPA Region 2 Dept. of Business
(212) 637-4343 & Housing
Development
(607) 737-5691
Perth Amboy, NJ
The goal of the Perth Amboy pilot project
is to provide technical expertise, pub-
lic/private support, and vision to empower
the local community and private develop-
ers in remediation and revitalization of
portions of a 877-acre area of heavy in-
dustrial properties. The City plans to con-
duct surveys, inventories, and assessments
in the brownfields redevelopment area;
compile related information in a database;
develop an insurance pool coverage pro-
gram addressing liability exposure,
remediation cost overruns, and third party
liability coverage; conduct feasibility
studies for innovative cleanup technolo-
gies; and develop a public participation
and risk communication plan.
Contacts;
Betsy Donovan	Melvin Ramos
U.S. EPA Region 2	City of Perth Amboy
(212)637-4303	(732)826-0290
Jersey City, NJ
Approximately one fifth of Jersey City's
acreage has been identified as potential
brownfields sites. The pilot area consists
of the former industrialized and rail areas
surrounded by the residential communities
of Bergen Hill, Greenville, and Lafayette.
Jersey City's pilot project will serve as a
prototype for development of a standard-
ized redevelopment model, focusing on
methods for the completion of brown-
fields site inventories, site assessments,
and remediation planning. Emphasis will
be on funding a comprehensive,
community-based, environmental educa-
tion and participation program.
Contacts:
Famaz Saghafi Paul Hamilton
U.S. EPA Region 2 Jersey City
(212)637-4408 Redevelopment
Agency
(201)547-4799
Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Industrial Development
Company (PRIDCO) will administer the
grant in cooperation with the Puerto Rico
Economic Development Administration.
PRIDCO's goal is to develop a prototype
for redevelopment of brownfields through
public/private partnerships. It will inves-
tigate and plan for remediation of a former
electroplating site located in Hato Rey, an
economically depressed community
within San Juan, as well as at two addi-
tional sites not yet identified. There are
also plans to develop a revolving loan
fund program to enable prospective devel-
opers or tenants to assess properties and a
community outreach program including
bi-lingual educational materials for Hato
Rey residents.
Contacts:
Carlos O'Neill Jose Perez-
U.S. EPA Region 2 Hernandez
(787)729-6951 Puerto Rico
Industrial
Development Co.
(787) 754-7546
Glen Cove, NY
The City of Glen Cove will develop a
community-based management plan that
promotes reuse of brownfields in the Glen
Cove Creek area as part of an overall wa-
terfront revitalization effort. The pilot
will also help the City improve commu-
nity participation in cleanup planning,
identify other potential brownfields, and
investigate potential health threats from
those sites.
Contacts:
Ed Als	Robert Benrubi
U.S. EPA Region 2 Glen Cove
(212) 637-4272 Community
Development
Agency
(516) 676-1625
Elizabeth, NJ
The goals of this pilot project are to iden-
tify and assess five marketable
brownfields, and develop remediation,
financing, and redevelopment strategies.
In doing so, the City will engage stake-
holders such as the Elizabeth Develop-
ment Company, Elizabeth General Medi-
cal Center, the Regional Plan Association,
and selected members affected by
brownfields sites.
Contacts:
Nick Magriples	Marie Krupinski
U.S. EPA Region 2	City of Elizabeth
(732) 906-6930	(908) 820-4019
Larry D'Andrea with U.S. EPA Region 2
may also be contacted at (212) 637-4314
for information on any of the pilot pro-
jects. ~
guidance documents available
through EPA
© Regional Pilots - Quick Reference
Fact Sheet
© National Pilots - Quick Reference
Fact Sheet
© Stakeholders Overview - quick in-
troduction to groups most likely to
be involved in brownfields redevel-
opment ~
NEED GENERAL
INFORMATION
ON BROWNFIELDS?
Call the Region 2 Brownfields Hot-
liae (1-800-225-7044) and ask for the
Brownfields General Information
© General Questions and Answers
© Contact Information for EPA
Headquarters and Regional offices
& Directory of Resources - describes
trade associations, databases, insti-
tutions, publications, and other
sources of information
© Proposed Brownfields Tax Incen-
tive Information
© Job Development and Training In-
formation
© Resources Overview - describes
BQCR Vol. 1 No. 2 Summer 1997

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est Harlem Ehvironmental ACTion
WE ACT, NRDC Focus
Community on Northern
Manhattan Brownfields

Natural Resources
Defense Council
West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT) and the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have teamed up to advance
brownfields redevelopment projects in northern Manhattan
communities.
Based on a 12-month EPA grant, the two groups convened a
Brownfields Redevelopment/Pollution Prevention Initiative
Advisory Group last November with the goal of educating the
communities within the Northern Manhattan Empowerment Zone
to define appropriate brownfields projects and pollution preven-
tion options. This unique effort focuses on pollution prevention
objectives to ensure the long-term success of the brownfields
projects and advance the overall well being of the impacted
communities.
The Advisory Group has already met three times, each time
bringing together about 20 diverse stakeholders representing
residents, small businesses, local community development corpo-
rations, federal and local elected officials, City College and
Columbia University faculty, economic development and envi-
ronmental agencies, church-based groups, and financiers. The
charge before the group is to hold two one-day "Community
Planning Symposia" later this year to educate the local individu-
als who together can merge the interests of brownfields redevel-
opment, economic redevelopment and pollution prevention.
According to Vernice Miller, Director of Environmental Justice
Initiatives at NRDC, the project is off to a good start. "It's better
than I had hoped," Miller commented. "Together, they just have
extensive intellectual resources, and their commitment to see the
project through to a productive and positive end is really high,"
said Miller of the members of the Advisory Group. The group
wants to provide a useful baseline of information to the parties
attending the seminars and is presently working to identify and
characterize potential brownfields in northern Manhattan that are
appropriate for redevelopment.
In addition to the research conducted by the Advisory Group,
WE ACT and NRDC will provide the technical expertise for the
symposia in areas of industrial pollution prevention, energy
conservation, green building design, water conservation,
community-based pollution prevention, alternative fuel
transportation systems, solid waste reduction and recycling, lead
and asbestos hazard abatement, and minority worker training in
related environmental areas.
Each symposia will address a unique group of 50 to 100 invited
guests. The events will be videotaped and summarized in a
report to include a discussion on the state of northern Manhat-
tan's environment, a directory of model community-based
brownfields projects, and a listing of technical experts and re-
source persons.
Recognizing that communities in northern Manhattan are already
heavily burdened with polluting facilities and mobile sources of
ambient air pollution, this joint project aims to inform
brownfields redevelopment efforts so that they may redress past
environmental management practices while creating new oppor-
tunities for sustainable, environmentally beneficial economic
redevelopment. The sponsors hope to spur the community into
positive action, having armed them with a vision for sustainable
economic redevelopment and a model for community-based
brownfields cleanup and reuse. Specifically, WE ACT and
NRDC hope the project can influence the ultimate selection of a
pilot site for redevelopment by the New York City Task Force on
Brownfields. "We hope to positively inform that overall pro-
cess," said Miller.
The project itself will serve as a model approach to inviting
public participation and incorporating public health concerns in
economic redevelopment. It will also demonstrate an effective
way to develop community-based models for pollution preven-
tion, and find appropriate approaches to small site redevelop-
ment. For more information on this project, contact Vemice
Miller at NRDC at (212) 727-4461 or Cecil Corbin-Mark at WE
ACT at (212) 961-1000.
The Brownfields Quarterly Community Report welcomes news
about local brownfields efforts by community groups and others.
If you have a story about what's happening where you are, please
contact Joyce Hargrove, TRC Environmental Corporation, 291
Broadway, Suite 1206, New York, NY 10007. Editorial staff
retain the right to review and revise all texts as necessary for
publication. ~
Brownfields '97 Conference
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
Kansas City, Missouri
1-888-795-4684
http://wvw.epa.gov/brownfields
smber >5,1997
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
For the CEO of the 199Q's: Risk-Based
Decision-Making Influencing Financial
Transactions and Brownfietd
Redevelopments Conference
Chicago, Illinois
1-800-9NO-RISK
September 30 and October 1,1997
12th Annual Conference
on Contaminated Soils
University of Massachusetts
at Amherst
1-413-546-0172
October 20-23,1997
Vacant Lots to Common Ground:
Strategies for Community-Based Brown-
fields Revitafeation Conference
Tufts University
Medford. Massachusetts
1-617-627-5000 ext. 5118
November 14-15,1997
BQCR Vol. 1 No. 2 Summer 1997

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Frequently Asked Questions from the EPA Home Page
What types of projects are eligible to
receive Brownfields Assessment Dem-
onstration Pilots?
The Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot Application limits pilot activities to envi-
ronmental activities preliminary to cleanup,
such as site identification, site assessment, site
characterization, and site remediation plan-
ning and design for areas that have an actual
or threatened release of a hazardous sub-
stance, pollutant or contaminant. Brownfields
pilot funds may be used for outreach activities
that educate the public about identification,
assessment, or remedial planning activities at
a site or a set ofsites. Brownfields pilot funds
also may be used to develop creative financing
solutions to brownfields problems (e.g., tax
incentives, revolving loan funds) for assess-
ment activities.
How does EPA select pilots from the
brownfields applications received?
The competitive process used to evaluate the
applications is technical and objective. A
panel ofpersonnel from EPA Headquarters,
EPA Regional Offices, the Economic Develop-
ment Administration, and other federal agen-
cies reads each application and compares it
against criteria listed in the application book-
let. The panel then discusses the merits of
each proposal and considers other factors
such as a desire for geographic diversity
among the pilot projects. Those applications
ranked highest by the panel are forwarded to
the Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response, who
makes the final selection.
ing The Brownfields Quarterly Comm-
unity Report in full. The Brownfields
Web Page will be accessible through:
EPA's National Web Page,
http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf
What criteria were applicants for the
FY 1997 National Assessment Pilots
required to address?
The Brownfields applicants were required to
describe the following:
Problem Statement and Needs Assessment
-	Effect of Brownfields on your Commu-
nity or Communities
-	Value Added by Federal Support
t/ Community-based Planning and Involve-
ment
-	Existing Local Commitment
-	Community Involvement Plan
-	Environmental Justice Plan
Implementation Planning
-	Appropriate Authority and Government
Support
• Environmental Site Assessment Plan
-	Proposed Cleanup Funding Mecha-
nisms
-	Flow of Ownership Plan
Long-Term Benefits andSustainability
-	National Replicability
-	Measures of Success ~
W Printed on Recycled Paper

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